Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man #118
Cover Date: Nov 94
Title: "Memories"
Credits:
Terry Kavanagh - Writer
Steven Butler - Penciler
Randy Emberlin - Inker
Eric Fein - Editor

Review/plot:
After Power and Responsibility, the Spider-books remain in permanent crossover mode, but they are split, with Amazing and Spectacular following the "real" Spider-Man while Web and Adjectiveless follow Ben Reilly.

Ben wants to get out of New York before he's forced to go into action, which he knows would eventually intrude on Peter Parker's life. But when he observes a crime and remembers the responsibility that comes with his great power, he reconsiders. And a spider-themed sweat shirt is taken as a Sign.

Ben looks in on Aunt May through the hospital window. Betty Brant is visiting; Ben observes that she's not the "wide-eyed innocent" that he remembers.

Ben swings around the city, saving a woman who tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge.

Meanwhile, having heard about the Siege at Ravencroft during Power and Responsibility, Venom has returned to New York with the goal of killing Carnage. Someone observes Venom when Venom stops at the church from Web of Spider-Man #1.

This will be Ken Ellis, a reporter for the Daily Bugle.

Ben hears about Venom being in town. And this is the key thing - he wonders why Peter Parker never "dealt with" Venom.

So he creates a costume for himself and goes after Venom.

And, this being a really decompressed storyline, that's as far as we get.

According to Life of Reilly, the costume and the (not yet debuted) name Scarlet Spider, were supposed to be deliberately cheesy, something that Ben Reilly quickly put together. I actually think the costume is pretty good. The torn sweatshirt is a very 90s Attitude thing, but much less so than a lot of such costumes. At least it's not another brown jacket, and there are no pouches. No wait! As people have pointed out in the comments, Scarlet Spider sneaks out some pouches around his ankles!

Still, it's not surprising that it sticks as a real costume.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - costume for Ben Reilly.

Chronological Placement Considerations: The is part one of The Exile Returns. Part two is in Spider-Man #52. A day passes between this issue and part two (which begins at night and says that Ken Ellis spotted Venom "last night").

This takes place before Ben Reilly is seen in-costume in Spectacular Spider-Man #218.

References:

• Venom happens to pass the building where Jean DeWolff was killed in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107. In addition to being kind of bad for Jean, it's also where Eddie Brock's downfall began, as we learned in Amazing Spider-Man #300.
  
• Betty mentions the death of Nick Katzenberg, who we saw was dying of cancer in Amazing Spider-Man #385. She also mentions the death of Lance Bannon, who died in Web of Spider-Man #114.
  
• Ben learned about great power coming with great responsibility in Amazing Fantasy #15.
  
• Ben also "remembers" the death of Gwen Stacy, from Amazing Spider-Man #121.

Crossover: The Exile Returns

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Toy Biz reprint

I think this works better if Ben draws/sews a spider on the sweatshirt. Finding a sweatshirt with that spider design on it is just cheesy. Who wears that, let alone displays it in the store window?

It is a cool costume though.

Like Gambit, Ben has one of those costumes that looks cool with outerwear, really weird without it.

I liked this issue, with its focus on Ben's feelings as an imposter and his reactions to the current Spidey status quo. The rest of The Exile Returns arc, however, I could barely get through.

One detail on Ben learning from past mistakes is how, when a suicidal woman throws herself off the Brooklyn Bridge, he takes care to redirect her momentum and avoid that brutal SNAP.

He does too have pouches! Ankle pouches are still pouches.

I wonder if the red bodysuit was meant to be a little reminiscent of Carnage for the kewl factor. I find the look boring, tbh.

Does it really help Peter if villains see that fake Spider-Man has mechanical webshooters? Would that lead baddies to guess that Spidey’s webshooters might be mechanical, too?

Except for the pouches around his ankles :)

@Walter Lawson: I always assumed that Scarlet Spider's look was meant to be a color swap from the standard Spider-Man costume - blue-over-red to Spidey's red-over-blue, in order to both resemble and contrast the original at a glance. With considerably less detail to reflect the improvised nature of its origin.

I assume that at this point in time it is common knowledge that Spidey's webshooters are mechanical. He has been seen changing cartridges several times, for instance - and IIRC, he carries those web cartridges on his belt, where they are not especially discreet.